Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Inventery Pocket Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Not long ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing a retractable rollerball pen from a small company called Inventery. It was an impressive pen that featured a minimal design and hearty materials, and I still really enjoy using that pen today. Just recently, I've been using a new pen from Inventery called the Pocket Fountain Pen. The model I have is made of brass and also includes some additional goodies that change the size and functionality of the pen. In all, it's a pretty exciting offering that I've been fairly pleased with.

All the features

The official name of the product I have is the "Pocket FP + Extender in Brass." There's a lot included in the "+ Extender" designation. To make it easy to follow along, here's a list of what's included in the box:

Inventery Pocket Fountain Pen with a gold-colored Schmidt nib
Additional section to extend the length of the pen barrel
Schmidt standard international converter
Schmidt ballpoint section that can be swapped out for the fountain pen section
Four different finial components that screw into place on the cap:
- Clip component
- Flush component
- Stylus component
- Lanyard component
Plus a bunch of short international cartridges with black ink (nine carts, to be exact)

All I could think when I opened up this package was "Wow." There's a lot going on here, and it's all shiny brass. Very powerful first impression. With a price tag of $165, this will be a difficult purchase for some, even when considering this is a machined brass pen. Do all the unique features and customizations make up for that price? Well, like most things, it depends on the user.

Look and feel

After assembling the pen in my favorite configuration (extended section with the fountain pen section and clip component to prevent rolling) and inking it up with some Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, I was delighted with the performance of the F nib out of the box. Smooth as silk, responsive, and well fed. Schmidt nibs can be a bit fussy out of the box, and I was happy to find no such issues with a pen of this price. Being made of brass, there's a considerable weight to adjust to. At 39 grams, it's not a light pen, but this isn't new territory for machined pens. Either way, it feels great in the hand. Despite the weight, it's still a really small pen. It's somewhere between a Kaweco Liliput and Supra in size, but with the same form factor.

Given the extension that you can use in the body, you can change the feel of the pen quite a bit. As such, I found it comfortable to post the cap if the extension was not in use. With the extension, posting the cap made the pen too long for my hand, which threw off the balance when trying to write. The pen wanted to flip over the back of my hand during certain strokes.

This is all well and good — being able to control the length and weight of the pen is a good thing. But that customization is a moot point if you plan on using the included converter. You must use the extension to make room for the long converter. I've been perfectly happy holding the cap in my other hand while writing with the long version of the pen. This allows me to use what ink I want instead of being limited to the cartridges I have on hand. If you prefer cartridges, this limitation won't impact you.

Being made of brass, there's certainly a metallic odor associated with this pen after minimal use. Depending on what day it is and what side of the bed I woke up on, I either don't mind this smell or I really can't stand it. For that reason, I'd probably stick with the plated options that Inventery offer. You can choose either "Black Oxide" or "Brushed Chrome" if you don't want the raw brass option. They're all the same price, and they're all made of brass. The added benefit of the plated versions is that you don't have to deal with the natural effects of oxidation on brass.

The included finial components are more of a gimmick in my mind. It's all about customizing the aesthetic of the pen. I've never enjoyed pens that include a stylus, so it's great that they've left that decision to me. The flush finial looks great, but the pen rolls around. The lanyard finial seems like a good idea, but I don't use any pens with a lanyard. The clip finial is my favorite, but I don't like that the clip doesn't actually rest against the cap. It rests about 2mm away from the body of the pen, making it ineffective at actually clipping it to things. As long as gravity is on your side, the pen will be secure. If anything gets turned upside down or jostled too much, it will fly right out.

Swapping out the different finial components is incredibly easy since they are all threaded.

Build quality

The build quality of the Pocket Fountain Pen is on par with the other pen I've used from Inventery: it's fantastic. The main thing I want to point out is that Inventery have included a brilliant feature on the inside threads of the cap. Instead of brass-on-brass threads, there's a thing plastic lining on the inside of the cap. This means that when you unscrew/screw on the cap, you don't have the tactile feedback of scraping metal or the abrasive sound. The thin lining makes the experience incredibly smooth and quiet. I'm not sure how long this lining will last over the years. The lining is included on the cap threads as well as the interior threads of the section extension piece. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate this feature.

Tolerances are tight with this pen. It has a very slim profile, so that means that there are no visible gaps between the pieces and that the cartridge converter barely slips into the body of the pen. There is no room for larger converters or cartridges. They machined this pen exactly for the standard cartridge converter. This shouldn't be a problem since that size is very common, but it is interesting to see how that works when assembling the pen.

The fountain pen section and ballpoint section each unscrew from the grip section with ease. This is identical to how the Kaweco fountain pens operate, making nib replacements a breeze.

Writing performance

This is really two pens in one, so I'll start off with the fountain pen section. Like I said earlier, the Schmidt nib operated beautifully out of the box. The flow is great, the nib is smooth on paper, and I really enjoy writing with it. Given the smooth but contoured grip section and the weight of the pen, it's a joy to write with. As long as you can tolerate the smell of oxidation that comes with brass pens, it's a fantastic experience.

I've never used a ballpoint or rollerball pen that uses a fountain pen cartridge or converter, so this was a new experience for me. I'll start off by saying that the plastic ballpoint component does detract from the overall look and fell of the pen compared to all the brass. The Schmidt nib is also gold-colored, which fits in nicely with the color scheme. Not knowing what to expect, I popped in a J. Herbin Éclat de Saphir cartridge and started writing. After a few seconds, the ink started flowing beautifully. The 0.5mm tip is very fine and makes a great line. Cleaning it is also fairly simple; I used the same process as the fountain pen section, but it didn't take as long to clear out and dry. When the ballpoint section is installed in the pen, it's also a joy to write with. Like I said, though, it doesn't look as nice as the fountain pen section due to the black plastic.

One quirk regarding the two writing components is the fact that you can't swap them out with the brass section without also removing the cartridge or converter. This usually isn't an issue, but in some instances you might have some ink spillage.

Overall

The Inventery Pocket Fountain Pen + Extender is an interesting pen with a lot of options and customizations. Doing it over, I'd probably go with a different color option to avoid the brass smell, but the pen is a great writer and unique enough to merit a look. Given that the Kaweco Supra is a bit larger, but still less expensive, I'd recommend you look there first and weigh your options. I love the rounded ends of the Supra, but that's another matter of personal taste.

At $165, this pen sits in a category that is extremely competitive and fully stocked. I wouldn't recommend this to someone as a first "premium" pen purchase due to the other options that are available in the same price range (or lower). If you're familiar with brass machined pens and this design grabs you, then you won't be disappointed.

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Posted on July 18, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Inventery, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Karas Kustoms Starliner Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Karas Kustoms are at it again, this time with a newly designed fountain pen called the Starliner. If you aren't already familiar with Karas Kustoms, they've been around for a few years making high-quality machined pens of various styles. My personal favorite is the Ink, which debuted back in 2013. In my mind, quality is synonymous with the Karas Kustoms brand, and I always enjoy seeing the new designs they come up with.

The Starliner fountain pens are small pocket pens that are part of a larger "Reaktor" series of pens that Karas is working on. While I don't have exact dates on availability, you can expect these to drop sometime mid-year, so keep an eye on Twitter and the Karas Kustoms site for timing.

These pocket pens have a classic design that reminds me of The Great Gatsby and the golden age of stationery. But, your grandparents didn't have fountain pens made from solid pieces of aluminum. Because of this material choice, the Starliner pens are incredibly light and durable. The material is still thick enough to make it incredibly strong and resilient for pocket and bag use. When I pick these pens up, they remind me of the feel that the Kaweco AL Sport has. Light but solid, short but useful.

There are four color options available in the Starliner group. The one that sticks out the most is the black anodized aluminum. This is a sleek pen with a durable finish. Under the cap, the grip section is also black. I'd love to swap out the stock Bock nib with something black as well, to complete the blacked-out aesthetic.

There's also a rugged tumbled aluminum finish available, which also covers the pen from top to bottom and everything in between. Despite being tumbled, the pen still has a sleek and smooth feel in the hand. It just lacks the same amount of luster as its shiny counterparts. One of my favorite features of this finish is the fact that the grooves that are cut into the cap and lower body of the pen retain their polished shine. It gives this pen a classy feel.

There are two polished aluminum models available: one with a blue section and one with a red section. Both models feature polished aluminum caps and barrels. Like all of the anodized options Karas has provided in the past, the colors on these pens are incredible and here to last. The red section might be my favorite, as it has a slight burned orange hue in certain light. Likewise, the blue section also has some green dancing around under the surface. These are anything but basic colors — they're delightful.

Something that I believe is entirely unique in this lineup is the fact that they employ a slip cap design instead of a threaded cap system. All Karas Kustoms pens in the past have used some sort of retractable mechanism (for gel refills) or a threaded cap. So, how does the slip cap system work on the Starliner? Pretty well. I noticed that there were some rough edges out of the box, but they quickly smoothed out. Simply pull the cap off and post it, and then snap it back on when you're done. In practice, they need just the right amount of pressure to operate, and I have no concern that it will uncap on accident. When posting the cap, however, the cap can sometimes wiggle loose due to the short length of the pen and how it rests on your hand. The cap has never completely come unposted while writing, but it does wiggle. To get around this, I've been using the pen without the cap posted. While the pens are short, they aren't short enough to be uncomfortable to use unposted.

You might have also noticed that there are no clips on these pens. This is a deliberate design choice, as the clips are only available on the larger sibling (Starliner XL). These pens do roll around on flat surfaces, so beware. In practice, it hasn't been a big deal for me. They also fit snugly in pen pockets and cases provided there's something to tuck them into. I think the main use case for these pens is to be thrown into pockets and bags with other loose items.

The Starliner comes with a Bock nib out of the box, and I've been fairly pleased with them. Nibs can often need minor tuning when you receive them from the factory, and these nibs are no different. While all four nibs write perfectly well, there is some tuning I'd like to do to increase the flow and smooth out the feel of the nib on paper. The nib is also a great size compared to the body of the pen. Not too small, but not too large either. They compliment each other. Since these are standard Bock nibs, they're also fairly easy to swap out.

One of the downsides of every pocket pen is the lack of refill and converter options. Alas, the same is true for the Starliner. Given the short body, the only options available are short international cartridges. You could probably use one of the short cartridge converters that Kaweco or other companies sell, but there's also a massive market for this size cartridge.

In my time with these new pens from Karas Kustoms, I loved the aesthetic as soon as I saw them, but the writing experience is also fantastic. Every new product is always a blank slate, but I'm glad to see that Karas Kustoms have come up with another excellent product that should open up possibilities in the $50 price range.

Keep your eyes open for these pens to become available!

(Karas Kustoms provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on July 11, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pen Reviews, Karas Kustoms, Fountain Pens.

Zebra Zensations 0.6mm Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Zebra Zensations fountain pen is a recent addition to the disposable fountain pens category at JetPens, and one that I'm happy to recommend. It's been a while since I experimented with the disposable fountain pens category, and the Zensations pen just solidifies my opinion that just because a pen costs less than $5 does not mean it performs poorly.

Similar to the Pilot Varsity, the Zensations fountain pen is a disposable, non-refillable fountain pen that costs only $3. This is the same price as the Varsity and I would say they are perfectly comparable. The Platinum Preppy is another popular choice in the disposable category, but they are different from the Varsity and Zensations pens because they feature a cartridge system. When the ink runs out, you can simply replace the cartridge with a color of your choice.

The Zensations pen features a slip cap design and an all-plastic body (except for the nib, of course). Despite the materials, this pen is rugged and can take normal bag and transit abuse just fine. The clip isn't the strongest clip I've encountered, but it does the job well. The plastic clip is a tad springy, but it provides plenty of gripping power on clothing, bags, cases, and other objects. If you like to post the cap while writing, the Zensations pen will handle that well. The cap posts securely and adds very little weight to the end of the pen while writing.

As an added bonus, there's a convenient ink window on the side of the barrel so you can easily see how much ink is left in the reservoir. The pen barrel is mostly black, but there's a lot of accent color thrown in, as well as a gray/silver trim for the clip. The ink feed section is visible through the grip, which can also be helpful when the ink is close to running out.

The nib on the Zensations pen is fantastic considering the cost. It's smooth, dependable, and has excellent flow. Straight out of the box, it wrote well and without any hiccups. This is important with any fountain pen, but it delights me to see this level of performance with a three-dollar pen. In a lot of cases, this pen may be someone's first exposure to a fountain pen, and I expect that to be a good representation of the nib and feed mechanism. These are perfect to hand out as a "try it" challenge to friends, coworkers, etc.

The steel nib is fairly stiff, and you won't notice much line variation as a result. The 0.6mm sizing roughly equates to a Japanese medium or European fine. It's a great size that most people are familiar with if they're coming from a bold ballpoint or 0.7mm gel pen.

The unit I have is the blue variation, which corresponds to the ink color inside. Where most pens seem to favor the darker blue hues in the standard lineups, the Zensations pen has a beautiful lighter blue that I absolutely love. It's more of a medium turquoise than a standard blue, and that makes me incredibly happy. Although, if you're expecting a darker blue or even a blue-black, I'd recommend looking at the other color options.

Speaking of which, there are seven total colors to pick from, and you can also pick up a pack that includes one of each color. At $3 per pen, and $17 for the seven pack, these pens are a fantastic deal. Throw some in your cart next time, and enjoy this newest player in the entry-level experience that give fountain pens a good name.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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